Accomplishments of the 2018 Cohort of Fellows

The inaugural 2018 cohort of Native Fish Society fellows included 11 people with extraordinary expertise who are responding with urgency to protect and restore fish across the Pacific Northwest. Their work includes over $42,000 of in-kind donations with over 550 hours of work in the areas of photography and multimedia, fisheries genetics, economics, human-dimensions/social science, forest policy, graphic design, economics, web-development, and science communications.

2018 Highlights include

• John Zemrose analyzed big data, summarizing where and when over seventy-five-and-a-half billion hatchery salmon and steelhead have been planted throughout the US and Canada during the last 50+ years.
• Todd Stevenson dug into to social dimensions of fish harvest on the Olympic Peninsula, introducing a model to bring people together to reduce illegal, under-reported, and unregulated fishing.
• Leah Hemberry started a podcast, Beyond the Riverside, interviewing 15 people in 4 states with her husband Russ Ricketts. The Podcast covers river and fish conservation.
• Philippe Gauthier continued to assist our web-development needs, supporting over 30 watershed specific inquiries and 89 requests for staff support by members of the public.
• Dana Weigel-Sheedy helped apply recent genetic research to protect remnant populations of spring chinook, and assisted in reviewing the latest science on hatchery and wild fish genetic introgression.
• Ernie Nieme testified to the Oregon Board of Forestry, raising the issue of a changing climate, how current practices externalize economic costs, and speaking to the importance of undergoing habitat conservation planning.
• Octave Zangs assisted with media in our effort to bring to light forest practices that are increasing the magnitude and frequency of catastrophic landslides on the Oregon Coast.
• Dave Herasimtschuk documented and shared his amazing underwater photography and videography of threatened fish from throughout the Northwest.
• Allison Oliver built upon her public outreach work in British Columbia to reduce the catch and release mortality of Steelhead.
• Chris Frissell reviewed the scientific literature on hatchery impacts and contributed to our hatchery comment template.

Moving forward we hope to add new fellows who will use their skills in commercial fisheries, art, big data, and in policy formation to grow our community of advocates and contribute towards our conservation campaigns. If you would like to contribute your expertise to our efforts, please reach out to Conrad Gowell through our Fellowship Program Page.